A Place Unknown
by yachtdepon
Summary: They say the sound of a horn signals the presence of a portal. Portals open the doors to multiple dimensions. These dimensions have never crossed paths. Until now… AU R&R please
1. Chapter 1

_They say the sound of a horn signals the presence of a portal.  
Portals open the doors to multiple dimensions.  
These dimensions have never crossed paths.  
Until now…_

"Wake up!"

Danny moaned and ignored his mother's call, staying in his slumber.

"Yo, Danny! It's seven-thirty!"

He moaned even more frustratingly. He thought, What could be the problem that ma has to suddenly wake me up?

"Time for school!"

Danny sprung up immediately. He had totally forgotten about that. All of a sudden, he was wide awake, as if huge amounts of energy pushed him to life.

"Coming!" he finally replied to his mother, and eagerly at that.

Today was his first day of school. Ever. He was to start elementary school and he was immensely excited about it. He couldn't wait to meet his classmates and teachers and start reading textbooks and everything a normal child could do. He was already an adopted son, he didn't want proper education taken away from him as well.

Within minutes, he had showered and got dressed. In his school uniform, he made his way energetically to the kitchen, where he was greeted with a plate of burnt eggs and under-cooked sausages.

"Er... Thanks, ma," Danny acknowledged his meal warily, seating himself on the wobbly dining table and carefully eating his breakfast. He watched his mother hastily placing the washed dishes back into their proper slots. Today was a sunny morning and the toll of the heat was evident by his mother's pool of sweat slithering down her face.

Suddenly, a baby's cry erupted from the living room.

"Ted's thirsty already?" Danny's mother gritted out. She frantically prepared a bottle of milk and fed Ted, cradling the baby in her arms and gently rocking him in an attempt to send him back to sleep.

Danny emptied his plate and swung his schoolbag over his back.

"I'm ready, ma!" he exclaimed.

"So fast?" She glanced at the clock hung lamely and unevenly on the unclean wall. Danny noticed her narrow her eyes, as if trying to clarify what she saw. Impulsively, Danny turned to look at the clock. The hands spelled out '7:30'.

"Seven-thirty? That can't be. I woke up _at_ seven-thirty, didn't I?"

Danny's mother shrugged. A skeptical Danny examined the clock more closely. The hands didn't seem to move. The second hand remained at rest for far longer than a second.

Danny widened his eyes as he realized that the clock was actually broken.

"Ma, it's not seven-thirty now, and I don't think it was seven-thirty when you woke me up."

Danny stared worriedly at his mother as they wondered what time it really was.

"Turn on the TV," she suggested. "Go to the morning news channel, they should have the time right there."

Danny did as suggested. He felt anxiety in the form of trembling hands. School was supposed to start at eight-thirty, and it would require thirty minutes for him to walk from their apartment to school.

He tensely waited for the TV screen to display the morning news channel. If the time showed later than eight-thirty, he would feel like a shattered dream.

The screen brightened. Danny and his mom could see the newscasters. Their eyes quickly focused on the bottom right corner, where the time had always been featured.

8:15 a.m.

"We're gonna be late!" Danny cried out. He and his baby-bearing mother bolted for the door.

They exited their apartment building and ran towards the school.

"Danny, pick up the pace, will ya?"

Danny hurried after his mom, who was power walking and still carrying little Ted. It was Danny's first day at Brooklyn Elementary School, and they were running late.

The five-year-old boy had longed for this moment all his life. Or, more accurately, what he remembered in his lifetime. He had always wanted to be like the other city kids that are older than him; in school, with friends, and maybe with crushes. Ever since he saw a classroom, he had decided that he was going to study in one no matter how much money it cost. Despite his single mom giving him the cold shoulder due to financial issues, with the money he had saved from his weekly allowances he had sufficed himself with the annual fee.

He had worked so hard to earn the opportunity, and he was going to be tardy on his first day.

"I can't be late, ma!"

"Well I'm in front of ya, so what're ya yelling at me for?"

Danny could feel his leg muscles straining and wearing out. He dared not to stop. He could feel that his throat was dry, as if the hot urban air had evaporated every ounce of saliva.

"Steady, Danny boy," his mother warned. She watched him overtake her and run as if his life depended on him being punctual. "All the sprinting will be useless if ya faint."

As long as he reached the school on time, he didn't care. He unintentionally pushed people along the way, forcing his mother to fervently apologize to the maddened passersby.

"Be careful, Danny!"

Danny didn't stop. He never slowed down, not until he reached the school entrance.

The school is just a few meters away, he thought. By now, his mother had lost sight of him. When the school bell had rung, and Danny was just a few seconds away, he knew he was late, but at least he wouldn't be overly late. His heart only sank a bit.

Once he reached the steps leading to the school entrance, he halted, panting heavily and drowning himself in a massive amount of sweat for a first grader.

"I," he breathed out weakly. "I did it."

Exhausted and dizzy, his vision of the school gate blurred and as his mother finally caught up to him he succumbed to unconsciousness. The last thing he heard was a faint scream from her mother and the soft cry of his disturbed baby brother.

When Danny regained consciousness, he moaned. He cringed when his mind reinvigorated followed by a feeling of piercing pain in his head. He also felt slightly dehydrated. Slowly, he opened his eyes, and was momentarily blinded by the bright fluorescent lighting. Judging by the lights and the spotless white ceiling, he figured he had been sent to the hospital.

He knew he had fainted, he was smart enough to know the symptoms, even though he wasn't as smart to avoid such a thing from happening. Unfortunately now, as ignorant as it sounded in his saddened mind, he couldn't go to school.

"Danny boy, you're awake!" he heard his mother exclaim and, sure enough, her face sprung up enthusiastically above his. "Son, are you alright now?"

Danny's response was a weak but reassuring nod. "How long was I out?"

"It's three o'clock now."

Three o'clock? Danny mentally repeated in disbelief. He let out an exasperated sigh.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," his mother assured him, gently rubbing his forehead with a warm towel. "I called the school. They know about what happened. Don't worry about it."

"That's not the most of my frustration." Danny was more saddened about missing a day's worth of school life. Even though he would probably return to school on the second day, he would still probably be perceived as the new student who would struggle befriending someone. He hoped that was not the case.

"What now, ma?"

His mother was about to reply, but was interrupted by the sound of an opening door.

"Oh, doctor!" his mother instantly stood up. "Danny's fine now."

"That's nice," he spoke that part out nonchalantly before continuing in a more serious tone. "But no one's _perfect__ly_ fine, am I right?"

The still face-up Danny raised an eyebrow at the doctor's remark. He sat up and delivered that look to the doctor. He noticed that his mother had been cradling his soundly sleeping brother the whole time.

"What are ya implying, doc?" Danny's mother asked timidly. She, too, did not find the doctor's remark comforting.

"Well," the doctor began. "I would start with the cliche scientific talk, but since you seem to be under tight time, I will, say, cut straight to the chase."

The doctor handed Danny his black writing board, and Danny slowly scanned the contents written on the three pages.

"Your son, madam -"

"I'm not married," Danny's mother corrected curtly.

"My apologies," the doctor continued. "As I was saying, your son seems to have... let's say _difference_... about his throat. From the initial check-up, I noticed that his gular structure is rather... special."

"I-I don't understand," Danny's confused mother yelled. The doctor cleared his throat before continuing.

"That was why I had to leave the ward; to examine the structure. I X-rayed his throat and did some inspections. I have to say, the image left me with nothing more than dumbstruck bewilderment. Honestly, it fascinates me how Danny is able to adapt to such a throat structure these past years."

Danny finished reading and looked back up, his facial expression remained incredulous and confused.

"Um... Maybe because I've lived with it all my life?"

"Highly likely." The doctor looked intuitively at his patient. "For a first-grade student, you're pretty sharp."

"Hold on, so I have some problems with my throat?"

The doctor gave an affirmed nod. "Treatment may be vital, in this case. As it's something I have never encountered before, maybe the clinical facility in San Francisco, California will be able to provide you with the proper care and resources."

"Okay," Danny comprehended. He wondered, What could possibly be so troublesome about this throat problem that needs me to go all the way to California?

"When?" his mother asked skeptically.

"Tomorrow."

"_Tomorrow?_" Danny spat out. If he were to leave Brooklyn, New York tomorrow, that meant he had to skip the second day of school on top of the first. "Can't it be on a weekend?"

To Danny's dismal, the doctor firmly shook his head.

"I'm afraid we can't risk it, Danny," he explained. "For your own safety, it's better earlier than too late. It may be so that this issue's been with you since you were born. That will need to be investigated. Plus, the hospital I've planned to book you in is usually off-peak on Tuesdays, so that will minimize time delays. It's your life possibly on the line, Danny."

"He's right, Danny boy," his mother agreed.

Irritatingly enough, Danny had to agree with the two adults. His own life is far more important than school life, especially at that moment.

Reluctantly, he conceded to the plan.

"Good," the doctor said, taking back his writing board and jotting down a reminder. "In the meantime, the three of you can rest here until tomorrow. I will get the flights ready."

"Will the tickets go to our medical expenses?" Danny's mother inquired prudently.

The doctor wrote down another reminder for the price, and replied, "I'll try to give you a discount."

Danny and his mother thanked the doctor as he left the ward, leaving them to rest. Danny took the time to vent out his self-disappointment.

"If only I hadn't ran so much and fainted," he scolded at himself.

"Can't say I didn't warn ya," his mother said, continually rocking baby Ted.

Danny aggressively covered his eyes with his hands. He wanted to scream in frustration. This was his way of shutting himself up before he could do so.

"I can't believe I won't be going to school for awhile," he muttered. "I was so pumped! I was so ready! And all because of a broken clock? It makes me so mad!"

"Think about it, Danny boy," his mother said, positioning herself as the voice of reason. "This may be a blessing in disguise. Whatever thing there is in your throat, the doctors can save you. If you hadn't outdone yourself, you would be at school unknowing that something wrong is going on down there. This is for your good, my dear."

She makes sense, Danny thought. He couldn't really argue with his mother. They were weighing down the pros and cons between skipping a couple of days in school and risking his whole life due to a flaw in his throat structure.

"You're so right, ma," he agreed. Their chat was cut short when Ted burst out crying.

"Oops! I gotta leave the ward, Danny. I wouldn't wanna disrupt the peace of the other patients. I will just take some time for baby Ted and will return when he's back asleep."

His mother tiptoed out the room, determination to remain silent foiled by Ted's intensifying whining. Danny watched them, amused at his mother's hassled expression and failing desperation to shush baby Ted.

Once the door closed and his mother and baby brother could not be seen through the window, Danny plopped himself to the white linen sheet of the hospital bed. He had the greatest desire to ponder over his classmates' first day of school, but right now he had to focus more on his throat. Once that was all cleared out, he could officially begin his life of childhood normality.

With nothing else to keep him away from boredom, he fell back asleep.

He woke up the next morning, mentally readying himself for the flight to California.

"Here is your breakfast, Danny."

The nurse positioned Danny so that he was sitting up straight, after which she placed a hospital food tray upon his lazed lap.

"Enjoy," the nurse's sweet voice chirruped, giving the patient a warm smile before moving on to the next patient.

Fish, rice, carrots and brocolli, Danny's mind pointed out as he examined the contents of the tray. For once, he was eating breakfast that had not been badly prepared by his mother.

Today, he was to leave Brooklyn and fly to San Francisco for a more extensive check-up.

More like an experiment, he corrected his thoughts. Although he would rather none of the running and fainting had happened and he had gone to school, fortune was not with him, much like in the past, and he had to settle for the next best thing.

He was about to chow down on his meal when he heard faint shouting from outside the ward. He could tell his fellow patients were irritated by the noise, and he felt disrespected too. That is, until the voice became more distinctive and he realized it was the angrily desperate voice of his mother.

"How am I supposed to know how much it is, I've never flown out of the city?!" Danny's mother's voice rang. "No, _doc_, I am absolutely not paying this hefty price, the current medical expenses are burden enough! The discounts don't matter, I still can't afford them tickets! What's the use of treating Danny if we won't have money to fly back home?! You're making no sense to me, doc!"

Danny's mother and the doctor opened the door, and quickly fell silent, bringing relief to the patients' ears.

"Good morning, Danny boy," his mother greeted, caressing his hair as he ate.

"I heard you shout, ma."

The two adults stood awkwardly at the revelation.

"You were pretty loud, ma," Danny added, making his mother flush. "I can tell it's about the flight."

"About that, hun," his mother explained. "Our finances won't be able to cover up the tickets.

For a moment, Danny was elated to hear the bad news. If they couldn't go through with the trip, maybe he would be released from the hospital and he could finally go to school.

The doctor then snapped his fingers, and he wore a proud and confident smile.

"I got it!" he exclaimed. "You can send only Danny to San Francisco, and we'll have a caretaker there to take care of Danny during his stay there! I'm sure my contacts will be able to bring in a volunteer!"

Danny inwardly scowled. I hate doctors for being so smart, he complained in his head.

"Doc!" Danny's mother was about to protest, and for another brief moment Danny was feeling hopeful. "Well, that actually sounds like a decent idea. It halves the total expenses. You two talk about it while I go check up on baby Ted in the baby care center."

Danny let out an inaudible groan.

Wait a minute, he thought, I'm staying in San Fran?

"How long am I staying there, Doctor?"

The doctor scribbled a note on his writing board before answering.

"Unknown. But it will take awhile."

"WHAT?!"

The other patients in the ward glared grumpily at Danny. He almost tossed his food tray aside.

"Awhile?" he repeated. "B-but I'm gonna miss school."

"I'm sorry, Danny, but this is for your own good, and for humankind too. This throat structure of yours needs to be thoroughly examined for our records. It's vital to the R&D of medical technology!"

For a young boy, Danny understood the doctor for the most part, but that didn't mean he agreed with him.

But, as he had come to admit that morning, it truly was important that he was to get that problem resolved.

"Okay."

"Wonderful," the doctor said, continuing to jot down things on his notepad. "Your flight will leave this afternoon. Let's get you to the airport."

After breakfast, Danny got dressed and packed, ready to leave the hospital. He gave his goodbyes to his mother and baby brother before hopping into a van, with his adult accompaniment, to the airport.

The flight took several hours, but Danny was doing fine, other than sulking over missing out on school. Throughout the journey, he spent the majority of the time imagining what life would have been like if he had reached school on time.

"Follow me, Danny."

Danny kept up with his accompaniment as they made their way to the arrivals hall to look for Danny's caretaker.

"Look for someone in a blue hood," the accompaniment's authoritative voice instructed Danny. Danny peeled his eyes, attentively scanning the row of people at the other side of the gates.

"There!"

Danny saw a blue-hooded woman. She was skinny with her cheekbones' features visible, and her lips were lipstick red. Her hood was more of a cloak that reached until her shoulders, where below was a dress much like the ones Danny would imagined Swiss mountain women would wear.

The woman subtly waved at the two.

"You must be Danny," she said as Danny and his accompaniment exited the gate. Her voice was distinctly strong, but with debilitation as well.

"My work here is done," the accompaniment said callously, leaving Danny and the woman behind.

The woman knelt down to get a better look at Danny. She seemed interested in his face.

"Lady?" Danny spoke, thinking it would make her stop staring weirdly at him.

The woman tittered as she stood up straight and offered her hand to hold.

"Call me Arella."

There seemed to be something about Arella that Danny found mesmerizing. Her eyes were innocent dark blue and her face looked tired but yet had some sort of light to it, as if she had been fighting for a desire most of her life.

Arella tugged Danny, waking him up from his state of awe. Gently, she pulled him to the airport exit and to the parking lot.

Arella's car matched Danny's first impression of her; humble and simple but with a worn-out appearance.

"Make yourself comfortable," Arella told Danny as he hopped into the light green car, "and I will take you to the hospital and the doctors will take it from there."

With the ignition of the engine, the car revived and was up and running. Arella took the time at the highway to start a conversation.

"They say you have an issue with your throat?"

"The _doctors_ have an issue with my throat," Danny replied in a suppressing, upset tone. "I just wanted to go to school. Though I _am_ thankful that my doctor spotted this, staying in another city for an undetermined number of days is more than I expected."

Arella let out a soft giggle at Danny's curtness.

"For a five-year-old child, you have a grown-up's oratory."

"Yeah, I get that a lot," Danny muttered, his words coming straight from the heart. It was true. Everyone would know that Danny was a different kind of kid whenever he would open his mouth. No one knew how. He didn't know why. It was just that he had the uncanny ability to apply complex vocabularies so quickly and accurately.

"So," Arella continued. "What do you think is wrong with your throat?"

Danny harrumphed.

"He didn't mention anything specific," he gruffly complained. "I checked his notes, though, and there does seem to be a difference in the way my throat looks compared to a normal human's. Mine looks wider and has, like, spiky edges."

Arella raised an eyebrow. Danny talking casually during the whole explanation seemed to have rubbed her the wrong way.

"That doesn't sound humanly," she pointed out. She made a left at a junction and for the next ten minutes silence dominated between them.

Danny was curious as to what the doctors at the San Francisco hospital would do to him. He dreaded at the thought of surgeries.

He looked out the window, at the calm scenery. Currently at the highway, there were no cars near them. He could see the Golden Gate Bridge situated in the middle of the bay. On the roadside at their side of the bay, he noticed that they were approaching an overhead sign. The sign read 'You are now leaving San Francisco - Come again soon!'.

What? Danny wondered. Isn't the hospital in San Fran? Where on Earth is she driving to?

"Er…" he softly poked the back of Arella. "Why are we leaving the city? Nothing was said about going to a second city."

"You'll know why, Danny," Arella responded reassuringly.

"I'll know why?" Danny repeated, taken aback. "Lady, what is going on? Are we going to the hospital or not?"

He didn't want to think about anything extremely bad, but if he had known better, he let a stranger - one that he met at the airport of a city that he had never been to - bring him into her car, and they were driving out of the destination city, where he was clueless on where he was being taken to.

His heartbeat quickened. It could be the case that he was being kidnapped in the most conniving and subtlest way possible.

"Tell me the truth!" Danny demanded, looking straight into Arella's eyes through the rearview mirror.

Arella sensed the urgency in Danny's demand. She didn't want Danny to feel insecure even though she wasn't driving him to any hospital.

"I'm taking you to Jump City," she replied. "Danny, I don't know if you believe me, but I know why your throat's special, and if you will go to Jump City with me, I swear to Azar I can show you why rather than tell you why."

Danny had no idea what Arella was saying. Arella peeked at his eyes through the mirror, and knew he was still in disbelief.

"What kind of lies are you making?" he demanded accusingly. "Jump City? Really? Do you think I would believe that there is a place in California called Jump City?"

The face Arella showed Danny was that of plea, as in plea for Danny to take her word for it, but he wasn't having any of it.

"Tell me what you are really trying to pull, woman!" Danny demanded, this time more forcibly. Arella was surprised by the boy's sense of protection, even for one not so humanly.

"That _is_ the truth, Danny!" Arella insisted. "I swear to Azar!"

"Who on Earth is Azar?!"

"_Azar isn't_ from here. He is our beloved leader from another…"

Arella abruptly paused, stopping herself from revealing anymore information that might be detrimental to Danny's comprehension.

"HA! You're lying!" Danny accused. "You are not taking me to a real hospital, you're not actually taking me to a new city called Jump, and there is no such person named Azar! You're a liar and you're kidnapping me!"

What occurred next was a devastation. Out of the compulsiveness channelled to Danny as a result of the overwhelming sense of defending himself, Danny violently pulled Arella's shoulder-length hood, making her gasp.

The sudden choking made Arella lose focus of her driving. She turned the steering wheel to the right more than she should have. Her car destroyed a part of the long rail that was there to prevent anyone from falling into the river. The car was momentarily sent flying before it plummeted down to the water, taking Arella and Danny down with it.

You're gonna drown and die, Danny's mind managed to convince him. And as the car crashed into the brimming blue bay water that Danny had thought was pleasing, for the second day in a row, he had been sent to an unconscious state.

After awhile, Arella and Danny's alive but immobile bodies found their way out of the wrecked car and afloat the river surface. Their bodies lay there, tricking their unconscious selves that it was a cloudy bed in heaven, spread out enough to had caught some people's attention by nightfall.

"Leave 'em unfortunate souls!" a deep and gruff voice could be heard bellowing coldheartedly. "We have business to attend to. If the quantity of our catch tonight remains a deficit, our business will be in jeopardy."

"I won't let them sink to death, Captain! It's the right thing to do and it shouldn't even be a question!" someone else retorted. "Let's real them in!"

A couple of sailors cast a large net, which landed accurately above Arella and Danny, then they pulled the net, bringing them to the fish-smelling planked floor of the ship.

"We _will_ take them to Arthur before resuming with our fishing!" the same silvery voice commanded. "Captain, please take us back to dry ground at Jump City."


	2. Chapter 2

Danny lay still on top a soft surface. He guessed he was back on a white hospital bed.

But no, he thought. I fell into the sea! I must be dead!

Part of him was saying that he was in some kind of afterlife. He didn't feel like he was on Earth. He could feel, but he couldn't move. He forced his eyes to open, but they wouldn't budge. All he could see was pitch black from his eyelids covering his pupils. Maybe he was paralyzed. It felt soft, but overall it didn't feel nice.

All of a sudden, in the midst of him wondering where he was and what happened to him, he felt external heat, making him imagine himself in a pot hung over a fireplace. He tried to move his arms and legs, but it felt like he was pinned to the surface, disabling him from movement.

He then felt a fiery sensation around his throat, as if there was a hand engulfed in flames choking him mercilessly. In his mind, he begged for mercy. What had he done to deserve this?

Danny gasped for air, forcing himself to sit up. His eyes were open now, and all of a sudden the burning feeling was gone. There were no fires around him nor anyone in front of him choking him to death. Sweat poured down his face as he tried to get a grip on himself.

That was one creepy nightmare, he thought to himself in vast relief.

"Danny? Nurse Kole, he's awake!" Danny heard a cheery voice calling out to someone. He heard footsteps approaching him, and then a redheaded woman popped up beside him, looking extremely excited and thankful.

"Hello, Danny!" her sweet voice chimed. "Rise and shine! You are such an adorable boy!"

Danny was questioning the qualifications the woman had as a nurse, since he was sweating immensely while she just screamed smiling. He sent her a scowl to get the message across.

"Oh!" the nurse realized that Danny was not feeling completely fine. "Kole, bring in a dry towel too! We'll get that sweat off you, little boy! Lie down and relax!" She gently pushed Danny back to the bed. Danny had enough of lying on hospital beds, but decided against ranting. He wouldn't want to cause an outburst like the last time he was in a hospital, which wasn't long ago.

Instead, he calmly asked, "Miss…" he peered at her name tag. "Anderson, where exactly am I?"

Miss Anderson giggled, though Danny didn't find anything funny.

"We are in the Jump City Hospital!" she answered, looking adoringly at her patient. "And please, call me Kory."

"_Jump City_?" Danny repeated incredulously. He was so unsure, because he really never heard of a city called Jump City. Such a ridiculous name, he thought. If Arella had been lying to him, and he was very skeptical about the whole situation, then Kory was currently lying to him too. With his first impression of Arella seeming to prove inaccurate, he was wary of Kory's sweet attitude.

"Where is Arella?" he asked curiously.

"Ms. Roth is outside," came another voice, just as sweet-sounding as Kory. She, presumably Kole, handed a towel to Danny, and he wiped his face hastily with it. "Why? Would you like to see her?"

I'd definitely like to see her, Danny said in his mind. See her, and then make her pay for trying to kidnap him. In another part of his thoughts, he wondered if Kory and Kole were baddies too, and all the things regarding _Jump City_ Hospital and them being nurses were a setup of Arella's to make him falsely trust her.

"I can retrieve Arella Roth for you," Kory offered. "In the meantime, would you like something to consume? You have been out for the whole night up to this morning. Perhaps a small carton of juice will suffice?"

Danny accepted both offers, requesting an apple juice. Kory squealed quietly, as if having a patient request something from her was considered an accomplishment to her, and she left airily, but soon returned with the requested juice held in her hand and Danny's 'caretaker' behind her.

"Here you go!" Danny sat up and took the drink. While sipping, he studied the nurses more closely.

Kory's long hair was strikingly bright red. Not painful-to-the-eyes red, but still considerably bright for a human. She had emerald green eyes that gleamed as brightly as the gemstone. Her complexion was just as complex as her hair. It had a huge tinge of orange in addition to her peach tone. She herself was tall, and basically everything the modern photographer would seek in a supermodel.

Kole, on the other hand, had light brown hair that were cut up to the top of her fairly white neck. She appeared younger and was shorter than Kory. She also had a tight bundle of thick locks sticking out at the front. She had calming blue eyes, much like the calmness Danny felt exuding from her as she spoke.

Danny's eyes then slid to Arella's. Arella looked cautious, which Danny found suitable as he planned on giving her a run for whatever incentive she had.

"I apologize for hurting you yesterday, Arella," Danny apologized quickly, making the curtness obvious as he spoke. Kory and Kole glanced at each other, in awe of a young boy's peculiar language ability.

"Do you believe me now?" Arella was soft-spoken. Danny was surprised. Did she not understand the hidden message in my apology?

"No! Of course not!" Danny replied honestly. "Still pretty sure I've been kidnapped!"

"Danny, quiet down. You will awake the patients," Kole pleaded as kindly as possible. She and Kory were very taken aback by Danny's boisterous attitude. They weren't dealing with a spoiled brat, but more like an angry, matured individual.

"But you won't get a hold of me!" Danny lashed out. But before he could take further action, the door burst open, and two muscular men in police uniform ambushed into the room. Everyone watched as they walked towards the patients. But they halted when they reached Danny's bed, and handcuffed Kory.

"What is the matter?!" a shocked Kory panicked as two guys pulled the struggling woman to the door.

"Under the regulations of the Jump City Police," Danny widened his eyes at the term one of the policemen declared. _Jump City Police_? "You are under arrest for theft at the Schmitt Store."

"Theft at the Schmitt Store?! Theft of what?!"

"Ten bottles of mustard," the other officer's stern voice clarified. "But we will talk about it at the station. You two!" His index finger and pinky directed at Arella and Danny respectively. "We need you to come with us to discuss a different matter. Boy, can you walk?"

Danny nodded, and the officers told them to get into the police car with a weeping Kory.

At least it's not a doctor, Danny thought sarcastically as they were being taken to the police station.

Upon arriving at the police station, Kory, Arella and Danny were sent to an interrogation room. The police officers removed the handcuffs from Kory as they shut the door tightly.

"Kory, we can do this the easy way or the hard way," one of the officers spoke in one of the cliche police talk. Danny was wondering why he and Arella were brought in with Kory.

"I promise you, I have not done such thing as stealing ten bottles of mustard!" Kory cried out defensively. "It's absurd!"

Absurd indeed, Danny agreed. Who steals ten bottles of _mustard_?

"Oh?" the other officer spoke with an intrigued tone, but not at all surprised. "So you deny the fact that you were at the Schmitt Store earlier and bought ten bottles of mustard?"

Danny's eyes couldn't help but sneak a peek at Kory. She was looking up at the policemen, but she was shaking quite a bit. Probably out of nervousness.

She heaved a sigh, and replied soundly, "I did."

Although he wasn't part of the interrogation, Danny's reaction came out naturally in the form of a raised brow and a slight cock of his head. Apparently, some individuals in the world would buy ten bottles of mustard in one grocery trip.

"The evidences lead to you, Kory," the other officer said. "Mr. Schmitt's sales invoice clearly stated that you have bought ten bottles of mustard. Then, en route to the Jump City Hospital, we found all ten bottles, empty, in several trash cans. It is not unknown to everyone that you have a peculiar obsession for mustard. All fingers point to you."

Kory stammered. She shook her head left and right in denial.

"Of course I love mustard!" she retorted. "I consumed all ten within an hour, but I didn't steal them!"

An arm was raised. It was Arella's. Danny's eyes shifted to the other side to watch his 'caretaker'.

"I have a question," she said, and the officers allowed her to speak. "If there is a sales invoice, that means she _has_ paid, right?"

"Yes, exactly!" Kory exclaimed, thankful for Arella. "Thank you, Ms. Roth!"

"_Kory_?" everyone turned to the door, where a woman was standing outside, looking in through the window. "Kory!"

"Sister!" Kory shouted back worriedly. "What brings you here, Komal?"

"I heard about you being arrested," Komal replied. "Ryan, Galor and Gilbert are coming."

Danny looked at Komal, then back at Kory and back at Komal. The typical skeptic he was wondered how the two ladies were sisters, they didn't look much alike. Komal had way smaller eyes of black with the slightest hue of purple. Her skin was browner than Kory's. Her hair was dull black compared to her sister's preppy red. What caught the young boy's attention the most was the little black diamond on Komal's forehead. Kory looked more like a Hispanic while Komal Indian.

They could be stepsisters, Danny thought.

"Guy, Cronan!" Komal called the two police officers pleadingly. "There must be an explanation to the missing mustard. My sweet sister can't commit such a crime! Maybe it was Todd!"

"Oh, yes, perhaps it was the resident bandit," Kory fully supported her sister's idea, but Guy and Cronan were not as convinced. After quietly discussing with each other, Guy stayed in the room while Cronan lead Danny and Arella outside.

As Danny set foot out of the room, he heard running footsteps approaching them. They were loud, heavy steps and, sure enough, big-sized men rushed into the interrogation room.

"Kory!" the larger of the three men called. He was redheaded, though of a much darker shade, and he seemed to be in his middle age as he had bald spots. "Are you okay?"

"I am unharmed, Galor," Kory said reassuringly but sadly as well. "It's just that I have been accused of breaching the law."

"We need to help my sister, Galor Fore," Komal said. "Will you help us too, Ryan?"

Eyes turned to the fitter, shorter, younger man of the trio. He, like Galor and Kory, had red hair, this one styled to shoulder-length. He had dark purple eyes like Komal, and he was in a fireman suit. Ryan looked uncomfortable. He replied, "I wish I could, but I got a call from the fire department a few minutes ago. Duty calls; I regret I won't be able to physically support little Kory."

"Thought so," Komal said sternly, not hiding any trace of her disappointment as she watched Ryan exit the room to assist the other firefighters. She then looked at the remaining man. "Morning, Gilbert Schmitt."

Gilbert merely grunted in response. His focus was on Kory. He hated her for stealing his items and forcing him to temporarily close the shop in order to get the case resolved. It was so problematic to him. His large self would have been staying in his shop lazing around as usual if he hadn't realized that the mustard stock had completely ran out out of nowhere.

While the interrogation continued, Danny and Arella themselves were under questioning by Cronan.

"May I have your names?" he asked, jotting down their names as they spoke. "Right. Now, do you know why we called you?" They shook their heads. "You two are new to Jump City, which is really unusual for us, because for years, nobody has ever entered or exited Jump City. You were found unconscious at sea by a fisherman's crew and brought directly to the Jump City Hospital. We just want you two to fill up some personal particulars, and then you can be on your way. That is, if you know how, because we don't."

Danny contained his confusion. How can police officers not know how to get out of their own city? he thought.

"Actually," Arella spoke, and Danny had to look up at her. "We plan on staying here for awhile."

We? Danny was disgusted that Arella was speaking for him. If this was a plan to kidnap him, it was the most complicated, harebrained plan he had ever been a part of.

Cronan nodded in understanding and replied, "In that case, you can stay at the Dayton Resort. The Daytons will be happy to receive some fresh visitors, since they only ever had recurring customers during the vacation season. I will give you the address to the resort while you complete this form, each of you."

He handed Arella and Danny a paper each and a little leaflet about Dayton Resort to Arella.

"I do not agree with you, Guy! The policy should be 'innocent until proven guilty' in this case, because I _know_ Kory would never do such a thing!"

The interrogation room door was pushed open, with Guy pulling a tearful and handcuffed Kory, with a ranting Galor, an uncaring Gilbert and a concerned Komal behind. Danny and Arella, who had completed their forms, witnessed the commotion for a brief moment before getting out of the station.

"I know Kory more than any of you!" Galor continued with his protests. "Look at her eyes! She's not lying, I would know! Someone may be setting her up, or maybe Schmitt had a miscalculation with the mustard! I wouldn't be surprised, he's the kind of man who would blame others for his mistakes!"

Gilbert was indifferent even with the insults. Guy didn't respond either, though Kory gave her butler a grateful but apologetic glance.

"But all I know is that she is innocent, and I will prove it to you! As the caretaker of Kory, I will try my best! I'm with you, Kory," Galor promised as Guy locked Kory up in a cell. Komal gently tugged the Anderson caretaker in a faint attempt to calm him down.

"Come on, Galor," she said softly. "Let's figure this out calmly and rationally." She managed to convince him that arguing outside a cell all day wouldn't be effective in Kory's release, and so they left the station, exchanging sad yet assuring goodbyes with a dispirited Kory.

Danny felt a bit rushed when Arella pulled him. Danny may be the intuitive type, but he wished he could read Arella's mind.

They reached a quiet street when Arella finally let Danny go, but wasted no time explaining herself.

"Danny, please listen," she began politely. "All this may sound absurd and unbelievable to you, but I want you to trust me. I am not kidnapping any kids, but I particularly brought you to Jump City for a reason. The reason will sound unreasonable for now, but I hope as the days go on you will notice some strangeness here, a strangeness that _you_ are also experiencing personally.

"Lady, you are just plain nuts."

"Listen!" Arella said more precariously. "Your gular structure; there's nothing wrong about it. It is shaped that way for a reason, the same reason why most everyone here in Jump City has their own specialties."

"And what exactly are these specialties?" Danny asked intuitively.

"Superpowers."

For a moment, nobody spoke, until Danny broke the silence with a resounding laugh.

"You've got to be kidding me," he snorted. "What, I swallow people, and that's why my throat is so weird?"

"Not exactly..."

Danny wasn't convinced. He couldn't comprehend having superpowers. But if it was a wild explanation, it meant Arella was telling a pathetic lie, or she was speaking the unusual truth. Either way, Danny didn't have much choice on the matter. He was stuck in a city he didn't know about, he couldn't run away. And the police officers didn't seem to know how to help him.

The both of them followed the map pictured on the tourist leaflet. The city wasn't that large, compared to cities like Brooklyn and San Francisco. It took less than ten minutes to get to the Dayton Resort.

The Dayton Resort was a colossal site boasting a swimming pool and a tennis court. The five-storey building also seemed to accommodate more than just hotel rooms.

Arella and Danny entered through the turning doors, and were hit with a boastfully decorated lobby. A massive chandelier hung elegantly on the ceiling, spanning to cover the whole top. The marble walls hung contemporary paintings and the seats were purple and black banquet chairs and a dark purple Kubus sofa.

"Welcome to the Dayton Resort! How many I help you?" chimed a voice in a strong New Zealand accent. Arella and Danny turned their eyes to the reception desk. There behind the counter was a young adult girl in black pigtails. Danny searched her name tag, and it read 'Toni Monetti'.

"We want to book a room," Arella responded, and Toni input some data on the computer. After going through the number of nights staying in, the type of room and the facilities, Toni handed Arella the keys.

"Enjoy your stay!" Toni said with a smile. "If I may know, why do you decide to stay in the Dayton Resort? Not that I'm shocked!"

Arella just laughed it off, but even Danny felt that the question was weird, and had a secret meaning. He recalled what the police officer told them, that the resort hadn't had any new visitors until now.

"We're new here," Arella answered. "And we needed a place to stay in."

Toni kept her smile until the elevator door closed behind Arella and Danny. They had received the keys to Room 208, and were on their way to the second floor.

_Ding!_

The elevator door reopened, but instead of the quietness Arella and Danny expected, they were hearing a variety of sounds. From zaps to booms to splashes. It took them a few seconds to realize they were in an arcade, not in a lobby of suites.

"You are going down, Vic!"

"I don't think so! Even in the virtual world, I will kick your vegan butt!"

Two guys were playing the enormous game in front of Danny and Arella, titled 'Monkeys from Another Planet - The Virtual Game'. They seemed unhealthily indulged in it. But Danny and Arella realized they were actually staff members of the Dayton Resort, since they were wearing the purple and black uniforms that Toni Monetti had.

"Uh...Guys?" Arella called uncertainly, stepping out of the elevator with Danny and approaching the two. They ignored her, so she had to gently poke them to get their attention.

"Not now, Monett," the larger, African-American guy said ignorantly. Impatiently, Danny pulled both men, causing them to tumble backwards.

"What in tofu's name was that?!" the scrawny guy asked, turning his head back and seeing a woman and a child, and he immediately stiffened, trying to compose himself. "Ahh, I mean, may I help you, ma'am?"

"Yes," Arella said, somehow sternly and sweetly at the same time. "May we know where Room 208 is, uh... Mr. Garfield Logan? It seems that the second floor is only for the arcade."

"Oh!" Garfield snapped his fingers and tried to remember what to say. "Oh! All the rooms are one level up. So if you have Room 208, you have to go to the _third _floor."

"Game Over!" a sudden techie voice-over boomed. "Player One wins!"

"Booyah!" the other staff member, named Victor Stone, celebrated, taking advantage of Garfield's absence on the game. Garfield's head steamed, stomping his foot.

"No fair!"

"We ought to leave," Danny whispered to Arella. It was a wonder the resort didn't receive new visitors, the service quality sucked.

_Ding!_

The elevator opened again, revealing a fit man, same as the ages of Victor and Garfield. He had spiky black hair and wore sunglasses in which the eyes couldn't even be slightly seen through them. He, too, was in uniform, and his name was Dick Grayson.

"Okay, boys," he said, looking down at a long list. "I need one of you to buy these at Gilbert's. You may find the shopping bags on the table beside the umbrella stand." The two boys whined while Danny and Arella's ears perked up.

"The Schmitt Shop?" Danny asked. Dick looked down at Danny, then up at Arella. He had never seen such faces before, and he had remembered the names and faces of everyone in Jump City.

"Are you new here?" he inquired, receiving nods. That explains it, he told himself in his head. "You know about the Schmitt Shop?"

"It's not much," Arella took over, wanting to get into her room and out of the noisy arcade. "It's just that there was this thief who strangely stole a lot of mustard and was arrested during her duty in the Jump City Hospital."

Mustard? Hospital? Dick could only link them to one person.

"Kory Anderson?"

Arella nodded.

"She is in jail?" Again, Arella nodded.

"This morning," she added. The news didn't make sense to Dick at all.

"But... Kory would never do such a thing." He had a thought in his mind. "Victor and Garfield, today's your lucky day." The two friends cheered and pumped their fists. "I'll go to the Schmitt Shop. Thank you..."

"Arella," the woman finished the sentence for Dick. "We have to go now."

"Of course, I'll lead you to your room before I leave."

As evening quickly approached, Dick made his way to the Schmitt Shop - the local supermarket. Dick volunteered to run the errands mainly to find out what happened to Kory.

"Schmitt," he called when he reached the counter with a full trolley. "We need to talk."

"A penny for a plastic bag," Gilbert said lazily before Dick could mention the topic. "Companies ordinance; levy to alleviate the environmental burden. I memorized it."

"I brought my own. That's not the talk I'm looking for, though. It's about Kory."

Gilbert's fat unshaved face became grouchier. "That scum," he spat. "She won't come here anymore. I'll make sure of that. Such a troublemaker."

"She can't be," Dick retorted defensively. "Whoever it is, it isn't her!"

"All evidence point to her!"

"It must've been a setup! It must be Komal, she hates Kory. I just have a feeling!"

"You always do."

"And they have been accurate! Do you remember the deal you made with Wilson? If it weren't for my intuition, your store would have lost its profits!"

Gilbert clenched his fists and teeth.

"If you are here just to argue," he gritted frustratingly. "Nobody's interested."

Dick held back a sigh, but was glaring at Gilbert under his glasses.

"Fine," he said finally, with no words spoken until the items were paid for and he exited the shop, after which he promised himself to get to the bottom of the case.

Back in the hotel room, Arella and Danny were about to call the latter's mother.

"Don't tell your mom about the drowning and the other-city part," Arella reminded, fingers over the dial. "We don't want to worry your mother."

"That just sounds oddly suspicious, don't you think?" Danny still didn't trust Arella. " If you want me to trust you, then tell me the truth!"

Not this again, Arella thought. "There is something in this city that is out of this world, Danny!"

"Right, 'cause they all have superpowers!" Danny shouted sarcastically.

Arella took a deep breath. She had to be creative for she had no proof whatsoever that some of these people were aliens or had super-strength.

"Do you really not trust me?"

When Danny nodded confidently, Arella felt she had no choice but to stick to her last resort. She took another deep breath and said, "Okay, I will give you proof that superpowers exist. Maybe that will make you less dubious about what I say."

She then input some numbers on the dial. But instead of the familiar number of Danny's mother, she dialled the line as printed on a card on their table

"This is room service, how may I help you?" Toni's voice answered from the receiving end.

"I would like a turkey pastrami sandwich, please," Arella said, reading off the menu. She later then added articulately, "Also, please be sure to bring a knife with you." Danny had to do a double take upon hearing one specific word.

"I'll be sure to have it brought," the receptionist replied. "The waiter will be there in a flash!"

Arella thanked Toni before hanging up.

"What do you need a knife for?" Danny asked, but remained ignored while Arella set up a circle of small artifacts that she had in her pockets. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

"Room service!" a male voice announced. Danny opened the door to see a dashing waiter, redheaded, fit, blue-eyed and with freckles.

"That was quick," Danny commented. He read the name tag, which read 'Wally West', before formally thanking him.

"Are you having a ritual?" Wally asked quickly.

"Ah..." Arella paused, coming up with an excuse. "For luck."

"You believe in luck, I see," Wally had his hand under his chin in disapproval. Danny found the pace of Wally's talking oddly fast, but he didn't seem or sound nervous. "I don't but I respect your beliefs."

"May you leave?" Arella asked with a slight attitude, and Wally scurried away after placing the tray on the table.

Finally alone to do what she had to do, she made her way to the table. But instead of picking up the whole plate of food, she only grabbed the knife before returning to her circle of objects.

"What are you doing?" Danny asked, his curiosity heightened.

Arella held the knife up. "Watch." Then, in what seemed like a flash from a camera, she stabbed her right forearm with the knife.

Danny's jaw dropped a record low, along with a loud gasp.

"Have you gone mental, emo lady?!"

Danny was all panicky, staring at a pained Arella. There was a woman in their room who just harmed herself for no reason.

"Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!" the lady yelled, words Danny had never heard of before. All the actions were leading Danny to think she was indeed troubled.

But then, just as she chanted those three terms, her affected arm began to glow white-blue. Mortified, Danny could only stare on in astonishment as the slice Arella had inflicted on herself began to close.

Slowly but most definitely and convincingly, the injury recovered itself and the glow seemed to be doing the work. It was like magic.

In under three minutes, all there was left in what used to be a hole gushing out blood was a mere scar. Even though there was blood residue on the floor and some dried up on her arm, she was completely fine.

"What was that?" Danny slowly asked, dazed and bewildered.

"That was me using my healing powers," Arella said with a small smile playing on her lips, believing she had done the trick she needed done. "You believe me now, right?"


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, mom."

"Hi, Danny boy! How have you been?"

"Well. The doctors are still unable to come up with a reasonable scientific explanation for my throat."

"Did you know all those words or did you learn them from the doctors?"

"I heard it from them." Danny faked a laugh. Inside, he was feeling really guilty for having to lie to his own adoptive single mother. But he had to if he wanted her to not panic and be very worried about him.

"It's been, what, three days? Did they tell you how much longer you will be there?" her mother _was_ worried, but after the first call three days ago, the night at the Dayton Resort with Arella and her slicing her own arm just to prove a point, she felt more at ease with her son away from her.

"We don't know," was the answer Danny settled for, trying to remain as secretive as possible. "They set a two-day time limit, but they are totally gravitated towards it, saying it may be a huge step for medical technology blah blah blah and extended the time. Honestly mom, it reminded me of our neighbors, when the mother shouts at her son to stop playing video games, and he says 'Five more minutes!', but he actually goes on."

His mother laughed. "That's happened last night."

"Some things just don't change. How's life without me, mom?"

"You're always with me, Danny boy."

Danny sighed. "Besides that…"

She laughed again, fattening Danny's already heavy guilt.

"Fine."

A bellowing cry could then be heard coming from the mother's side, and Danny knew it was his sweet brother Ted. "Ted calls! Gotta go!"

"Bye, ma, love you."

They hung up their phones and Danny made his way a mere few steps to the double-person bed. Arella was already lying down on the side sticking to the wall.

"How did it go?" she asked. Danny didn't respond. Just because he believed Arella, didn't mean all the bitterness had subsided. It was because of her he had to lie to his mother. Arella felt the bitterness out of Danny's ignorance, and decided to try again.

"I am terribly sorry that you have to be away from your mother, Danny. I know your mom is feeling hurt and lonely despite knowing you are safe here."

"And what makes you so sure?" Danny's curt reply was pointed.

Arella's hand wandered on the bed until it found Danny's. She held the smooth hand tightly.

"I have a daughter."

Danny wouldn't have guessed because Arella never mentioned anything about having a daughter or implied it in the slightest since they met. Arella continued.

"You may be surprised, considering that I haven't been the motherly figure to you, but it's true. It's just that, we seldom meet, because she's in her own world busy doing her own thing, and I was useless to insignificant in her personal development."

"Do you know where she is?"

"Yes…" Arella answered. "… and no."

"What?" Before Danny's confusion could be cleared up, Arella had flicked the lamp switch and darkness filled the room as a sign that it was time to sleep. Arella never replied and Danny took it that she didn't want to answer and had fallen asleep, so he followed suit after briefly glancing at their digital clock.

9:45 p.m.

It was the time for the sailors and fishermen to sail back to dry land with their nightly loot of catches. The Captain, Moss Poisson, was overseeing his crew manhandling the netted fishes. His expression of displeasure was the only reason his subordinates were too afraid to look up at his grungy face.

"We have, _yet again_, a turnover deficit." Moss's disappointment was clear, and it stung the sailors, because they knew he was directing the blame to all of them. "This is not looking good, mates. Over the past two weeks, we have only turned up two surpluses and one neutral result. The rest was deficits, and we have been doing this routine every - single - day - except - Friday. The problem is either the fish or you all, and as extemporaneous as I sound I think it is _you all_."

"But we have tried out all the measures we have come up with," one of the sailors spoke out. "None of them were consistently successful."

"And that is an issue I want every one of you lads to deal with!" the captain shouted. "Now, if you're done being incapable wussies, load up them scaly critters and get the heck out of my fishing boat!"

Everyone wanted to express some degree of frustration, but not a single grumble could be heard when the boatmen did as obliged. They didn't bother to say more for it would just end with Captain Moss Poisson challenging to have the last, resounding word. It would be a losing battle.

"Fish Tramp!" Moss called out from his usual standpoint. One person reacted, rushing to reach the captain within seconds. It was a skinny boy in his late teens in ragged clothing and sporting a damp bucket hat. He straightened himself up and saluted his captain soldier style. Moss gave his order, "Deckhand Ervin von Tramp, you will mop the boat's every board once all the sailors leave."

Ervin nodded firmly and went back to work. When all the fish had been loaded into the storage freezer and the sailors went home, three passengers remained on Captain Poisson's boat; Moss himself, Ervin and the guy with the long, slick black hair and tantalizingly navy blue eyes. He was the man who insisted that the sailors rescue the two strangers drifted at sea nights before.

"Fisher Garth Aquos, why are you still on my boat?"

"I want to talk to you about setting up a _second_ net _with_ the first net," Garth suggested. "I think it will work and we will be able to catch more than twice the amount of fish!"

"No, we will not purchase a second net!" Moss's reply came just a few milliseconds after Garth finished his sentence. "The first one was costly enough, and we are already under a tight budget. I do not - repeat _not_ - accept this plan!"

"But I believe the returns will outweigh the cost! Think about it, Captain Poisson; with one net, the amount of fish we are catching is not enough to overcome the expenditure of all our jobs. But with the combined product of _two_ nets placed strategically so that the likelihood that a fish escapes the nets will be greatly reduced, we can garner more profits that maybe can compensate for our ongoing loss."

"Nonsense!" Moss spat out. "I don't see where this is going, Aquos. You are on my boat, working for _me_, so any plans and adjustments will go through _me_ and _I_ will decide whether to enforce them or ignore them, because _you_ are under my rules."

"But only one person's way is not always the best way, even if you have credentials," Garth argued. They had begun the challenge of snatching that last word, and Ervin had the biggest desire to finish his job and leave, so he did. "When will you use one of our ideas? One of them might work!"

"I'm the best at fishing in this city! I've been in this industry longer than any of you. I know what is best!"

Garth wanted to retort _so much_, but he knew from experience that Moss would always have something to say, and many times it was something repetitive. The process was repeating itself again, and Garth knew that their feud was going nowhere. Without another word, he got off the boat. Moss let out an arrogant grunt.

The following morning, at the Dayton Resort Room 208…

"Room service!"

Arella opened the door, allowing Dick Grayson carrying a tray of breakfast to enter. Arella smiled at the familiar face. She woke up Danny so that they could begin another day.

"Thank you, Dick," she said. She expected the door to close and Dick to leave, but she didn't hear anything shut doors, and looked up to see Dick standing there.

"I just want to thank you," he said. "I've been working on this Kory case for the past three days ever since you gave me the heads up about her being in jail. She was not rightfully punished. I know she didn't steal the mustard."

"That's good to hear! I couldn't see Ms. Anderson being the thieving type. How is your work?"

"I have a prime suspect, and I am finding as much evidence as I can. From the looks of the security cameras, that suspect is still possible to being the real thief. Then, I went on an investigation to find the stolen bottles. I found four empty bottles at the Dayton Resort Bar. The bottles looked like they had been forcefully emptied."

"Oh dear, so could it be one of the Dayton Resort staff?"

Dick nodded. "Anyone who's been there is a suspect on my list, including the prime suspect. Then, just yesterday, I found three more in a trash can on a street between the Anderson household and the Dayton Resort. Considering the people who had been at those two places roughly around or soon after the time Kory last exited the Schmitt Shop, I am down to three people; Victor Stone, Laura de Mille, and the prime suspect; Komal Anderson."

"That Komal girl did seem like she wasn't trying hard enough to save her sister. What about the last three bottles?" Arella asked before biting on her croissant.

"If my intuition is correct, then they should be at the docks, because only Komal out of the three have been there around the time frame. I'm going there after my breakfast." Dick was about to leave, but then looked back at Arella after a thought struck him. "Would you and Danny like to come with me?"

"On an investigation?!" Arella and Dick turned their heads to a just-awoken Danny. He would love to go on a detective mission. "Count me in!"

"Count us _out_," Arella corrected, shaking her head at Dick.

"But the sailors will be there," Dick added.

"And why would we be interested in the sailors?" Arella asked.

"They saved your life," Dick replied. He was right. Arella and Danny fell into the sea and would not have made it if they hadn't been saved by someone, and sailors made the most sense. "I just thought you'd want to at least thank them. Especially Garth, he's the one who urged the captain to rescue you both. He's a good guy and an awesome friend of mine. What do you say?"

"Yes!" Danny exclaimed as he crawled his way to breakfast. Arella felt she had to show her gratitude, so she reluctantly agreed.

Dick waited for Arella and Danny to finish their breakfast before setting off to the docks. At the docks, some sailors were counting last night's haul. Dick went straight to Garth, and they exchanged a high-five.

"Arella and Danny, this is Garth Aquos. Garth, these are the people you saved; Arella Roth and Danny Tuxon."

Handshakes were exchanged before Arella gracefully thanked the fisherman.

"It's the honorary code to every true sailor!" Garth responded, his voice like a dream. "What brings you here, Dick?"

"I'm just solving a case," Dick casually replied. "Meaning I'll have to start. I'll see you soon, Garth!"

Dick waved at Garth, Danny and Arella as he jogged to his first destination. Danny examined what was in front of him; crates and crates of fresh raw uncut seafood.

"You have a lot of fish, Garth."

Garth gave Danny a look of uncertainty. He replied, "We are actually expecting far more."

"Oh. Say, this is not where you saved us." Danny could tell. There was nothing but the sea past the pier, and he was sure he and Arella were somewhere near the Golden Gate Bridge.

Garth nodded. "You are bright. You were found on the other side of the city!"

"Wow, there are two seas on two sides of Jump City?"

Garth shook his head. "No, Jump City is _surrounded_ by the sea! We're on a little natural island turned urban! Cool, huh? We can only get out of here by water travel. Well, I actually don't know if we can. No matter how far we go, we can't seem to find land that isn't ours! You can't find _any_ source of life when observing from the shores of the city!"

"How peculiar…" Danny couldn't help but imagine a whole city sinking. Atlantis came to mind.

"What happened to your neck?" Arella asked, indicating scab-like streaks on the sides of Garth's neck. There were three on each side and they almost paralleled one another.

Garth lightly waved a hand to show that it wasn't a big deal.

"Scars. Had them for as long as I can remember. The work can leave you with scratches now and then, but it's nothing serious "

Danny knew that Arella was implying something to him. She wanted Danny to pay attention to Garth's scarred neck. He imagined hard, and eventually envisioned Garth with gills. It would make sense that Garth Aquos had a career with the sea if his 'superpowers' were that he could swim like a human dolphin and could breathe underwater for a long, long time.

Danny nodded at Arella to tell her that he understood.

I cannot believe I am imagining these people with superpowers, he thought exasperatedly.

"Aquos, assist von Tramp with the preparations!" a gruff voice sounded from the boat.

"Well, that's an order from my _egotistical_ captain, no other than ol' Moss Poisson himself! I gotta go but it was nice meeting the people I saved! You guys make sure you don't drown again, alright?"

Garth waved goodbye and resumed working.

"Let's go and find Dick!" Danny urged, failing to pull Arella. "I wanna see if he proves Kory innocent and her sister guilty."

Arella wasn't so sure about letting a child be involved in a crime case. She convinced him that it wasn't their business to mind and they decided to head back to the Dayton Resort.

Though I am interested to see what Dick finds and what happens in the end, Arella thought as they began walking.

Dick found himsef at the beach. He had received eye-witness reports that Komal Anderson had been at the beach sunbathing the day after Kory's arrest. He didn't get any reports about her working on releasing her younger sister.

Dick had to wonder where he would hide three bottles of mustard if he were Komal. He had scoured the sands and in trash cans to no avail. After an hour, he stopped searching, but he still had one more guess.

"It's a long shot," he told himself before stripping down to no more than his skivvies. Without the littlest bit of reluctance, he dived into the pristine water and swam on, hoping to find bottles of mustard somewhere in the sea.

So far, all his findings seemed to lead to Komal. He was so sure it was her, but everyone else needed legitimate, solid proof, and that was what he was striving to find. It was just the right thing to do. Kory had treated Komal like a sister and thought Komal was reciprocating the mutual understanding, but if Dick's intuition was right yet again, that meant Komal had been playing Kory all along for a particular reason.

Dick never met his parents. It was like they never existed. He couldn't even recall any memories of them, that he felt like he suddenly appeared into the world. But they had left him with their apartment, and from the looks of the uniforms and medals, he could tell his father had at least been a person of justice, which was why Dick had been influenced on doing everything the right way rather than the easy, unjust way.

He waded through the water, looking at the surface and under, not missing any space.

Got it, he thought, pulling three bottles of mustard trapped in a small net that had been weighed down by a rock. He bit through the net and released the mustard, taking them back on shore.

"Komal is definitely the thief," he confirmed to himself, grabbing his phone and calling the police station. "Hello, Officer Guy, I have proof that Kory is innocent and Komal's the thief back at the Schmitt Store situation. Meet me here at the beach."

Dick explained his findings to the police and they took all the evidences and brought them to the police station, along with Komal.

"What is going on?" Kory asked as she saw Dick and Komal enter the station. "Sister? Richard?"

"I don't know why I am being sent here!" Komal bellowed, glaring at Dick.

"How are you and Galor doing in helping me out?"

Komal shrugged. "No luck, honey."

"That's because _you_ are the thief," Dick said confidently and sternly, receiving a glare from Komal and a confused look from Kory. "Kory, your sister has been trying to find a way to get you out of her life. She doesn't respect you! She hates you!"

"Those are really harsh accusations, Richard," Kory retorted, not completely believing him.

"Take a look at the Schmitt Shop's security cameras! Komal was on her way to the condiments shelf soon after you! I found all ten missing bottles of mustard! Gilbert _did_ miscount, he should have had twenty bottles left, with your ten that you rightfully bought and the ten Komal stole in order to set you up here!"

Kory looked at Komal, but all her sister did was sneer. She then looked at Guy the police officer, and his expression told her that Dick was - to her dismal - not lying.

"Dick's findings all really point to Komal," Guy declared. "I and some of the other officers have looked into this, and it appears that we have made a mistake."

Kory gasped. She would never have suspected her sister to sabotage her. She would rather she be mistakenly declared guilty with the real culprit _not_ being Komal than be proven innocent with the real culprit being Komal.

"Did you really do it, sister Komal?"

Kory watched Komal carefully. She was biting her lip, holding back words.

Then, Komal looked up at her younger sister with grimace.

"Yes," she admitted, and Kory felt her heart sink. "I did! I have been hiding this hatred for you ever since I laid my eyes on you! You have always been the one with the positive attention, like you're the princess of Jump City or some other kind of trash. You are a nurse and you're still in college, while I'm a bartender at some stinking bar without any degrees! It irks me to no end!"

"Sorry, Miss Komal Anderson," Guy said, handcuffing Komal. "You have been arrested. Kory, you're free to go."

Kory was released from her cell and Komal took her place.

"I can't believe you, sis," Kory said. "But justice has been served."

Komal rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Kory and Dick were sent out of the police station.

"Thanks, Richard," Kory said as they slowly walked towards the city center. Even though it was a pity that her own elder sister could do such a terrible thing to her, and that it was as hard as a boulder to sink in, she knew that when Komal admitted her bad deed that justice had been served, and in the end that mattered more in her opinion. She had to be thankful for Richard Grayson for extracting the truth, especially since she didn't know so much about him other than his uncanny instinctive intuition and that he was in college with her.

Dick smiled. "Call me Dick."

"But I'm curious," she stopped them from walking. "Why did you help me? Why do you _always_ want to help me?"

Dick shrugged. "It's the right thing to do. I'm a man who serves for justice."

Kory shook her head. "No, _Dick_. There's more to that than merely fulfilling Honor's Code. You helped me find the journal I needed for my report at the College Library last, last week. You taught me what mouth-to-mouth resuscitation meant and that it's not a way to show admiration nor learning the French language. I still joke to myself about how I thought French kissing meant kissing to know more French. I mean, _language transfer through lip contact_? I guess I tend to overestimate other cultures to prevent the culture shock. Still, embarrassing. Now tell me, please, I really want to know. I have had my sister lie to me shamelessly, I would like the truth for a change."

Dick's mind was scrambling to find a convincing reason.

"I want to be your friend," he answered. "I want to get to know you. You are a bundle of emotions, but I am interested in knowing if there is something going on beneath your expressions."

There was a moment of silence as Kory thought of Dick's answer. Dick himself wasn't sure if he had convinced her enough.

"Okay," she ended up saying with a smile. "We're friends!"

She patted Dick's back hard, and they headed their separate ways. Kory headed home to update Galor and Ryan (assuming her younger brother was there), while Dick returned to the Dayton Resort to begin his evening shift.

News of the Komal-Kory feud spread fast, reaching Room 208 by moonrise. Danny for one felt ghastly by how sibling rivalry could escalate that much.

"I'll have to keep myself in check to make sure that doesn't happen to me and Ted," he remarked. "Arella, do you know if Dick and Kory are best friends? It's sweet how much he fights for her."

Arella laughed to herself. Danny knew she knew something that he didn't, and Arella knew he wanted her to spill the beans, so she did."

"I think I know who they are in their original world," she said. "Red flowing hair and black spiky hair. My daughter is friends with them. She's told me how they have this affection towards each other that was completely obvious to everyone but them whenever she came to meet me at our home dimension."

Danny understood _somehow_. "So DicKory may be experiencing the same thing all over again! It's like a romcom!" Arella nodded at his deduction.

Danny had been really curious about Arella's daughter ever since she mentioned that she had one, but he never really brought up the topic the whole day.

"Is your daughter here?" he asked, and he knew he touched on something sensitive.

Arella, with a sigh, replied, "I think so, but I don't know. Purple bob for a hair, a diamond-shaped Ajna Chakra on her forehead like Komal, and pale gray skin. But maybe she gets a makeover during the transition from our world to this. Plus, she's not exactly the out-there type."

"Don't worry," Danny reassured her. "Who knows? Maybe she will suddenly pop up!"

"But I don't know her alias here. Everyone's name is different."

"But her face remains... mostly."

Arella took a deep breath. The little boy is right, she thought. She really wanted to see her daughter again. It had been two years.

"Alright, smartypants, it's nine o'clock. Time for bed."

And as the giant clock of the clock tower signaled the time - nine in the evening - most of Jump City closed down for the night. One of the shops closing down was the Bay Cafe, a tiny coffee shop at the Jump City Shopping Center.

"I'm leaving you with the counter cleanup, Rach. I have to leave."

"Why so soon, boss? Are you going to the charity?"

"Uh... Of course."

Rachel could hear a gulp as she was organizing the files and her boss was retrieving his coat from the coat-hanger. Hugh Corazon was not going to the _Jump City Charity for the Disadvantaged_ to give them Bay Cafe's weekly donations of foods that had not been bought. He didn't believe it was fair that they could get the pastries and delicacies for free because it made him feel like his shop was being used. So, instead of donating them, he threw them all away. He didn't care one bit.

"You have such a huge heart," Rachel commented cheerily, brushing off the sweat from her black bob as she moved boxes of office supplies from one cabinet to another. Hugh agreed with Rachel, but knew his heart was anything but generous.

"See you tomorrow, Rachel," Hugh said, exiting the 'Staff Only' office. Rachel spent two more minutes in the office before she finished all her duties.

"When I decided to take up a place as a barrister, I didn't expect to file things," she complained to herself. She packed her stuff, and headed for the door.

She pushed the door, and felt weight from the other side.

Okay, if some brats are trying to block me in, it's not funny and it's not working, she thought maddeningly, exerting more force on the door.

"Dang, this is heavy!" she shouted. She took a step back then ambushed through the door, finally getting out of the office.

As soon as she saw the counter and knew she had passed through the door, she spun around to see what had blocked her way. On the floor by the door was a lifeless body; male and large. Her boss.

"HUGH CORAZON?!" she gasped. The sight was extremely difficult for her to process. "Oh no, I hurt Mr. Corazon."

She knelt beside Hugh, softly slapping his cheeks to try to wake him up, but she could tell he was unconscious.

"He's not breathing," her fear intensified, transforming into a frenzied panic. "No no no, Hugh! Come on, wake up! _Wake up_! Oh no. What do I do?"

Rachel was shaking. All that her frantic mind was telling her was that she had probably just killed Hugh. Compulsively, she took her stuff, removed all security cameras, and ran away from the cafe unnoticed, escaping into the night.


	4. Chapter 4

The following morning, Danny decided to reward himself for being an early bird, waking up at six o'clock.

After doing all the things he would normally do oncegoke up, he entered the elevator and went one floor down.

But to his disappointment, the arcade was not officially opened for the day yet. The moment he saw that the screen for Monkeys from Another Planet - the virtual game that he learned was t0he most popular at the arcade - was blank, he realized that the arcade was still closed. He looked around for the opening time.

**8 a.m. - 8 p.m. EVERY DAY**

"Great," Danny complained. "Now not only do I have to wait until this games center opens, I have to find a way to kill time."

He then heard an approaching voice. Male but high-pitched, raspy but modulated.

"Hey, Gar!"

_Thud!_ Gar screamed chidish obscenities as the caller surprised him and made him slip and let the contents of the box he was carrying scatter all over himself.

"Are you okay?" Danny ran to him, who looked slightly disoriented.

"No worries," Gar assured dizzily. "I got this." He got up and began putting the items back into the cardboard box. He was visiby in a hurry.

"But you can help me with this," he suggested hastily, and Danny bent down to pick up some of the items. "Dude, if Dick arrives and sees I haven't cleaned the staff room, I will be so doomed."

_Ding!_ Gar's heart dropped.

"I _had_ to mention that."_  
_

He prayed it wasn't his manager exiting the elevator. That person was in the staff shirt and jeans, had a roll pf newspaper in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. He was also wearing sunglasses, and Gar just knew he was done for.

"Good morning, my friend Mr. Grayson!" Gar squeaked. He stared right into Dick's shaded eyes. He couldn't see them, but he knew as Dick's head panned from Gar's green eyes to the mess he had made, that those eyes were far from the happy kind.

"What happened here?" Dick asked sternly. He didn't know why he asked, this wasn't the worst mess his dope of friends caused.

"Hehe…" Uh oh.

"Did you free Kory?" Danny asked in between them.

Dick's mood seemed to have swung at the inquiry.

"Yes, I did," Dick proudly said. "My intuition was correct yet again."

Danny quickly winked at Gar and Gar gave him a secret thankful gesture for distracting Dick and sparing Gar.

"Look, we even made the front page."

Dick straightened the newspaper vertically. The classic newspaper, pathetically and predictably titled _The Jump City Daily_, bore the headlines **COLLEGE STUDENT EXPOSES FAMILIAL DECEIT**. Danny was scanning the excerpt of the news, but Gar then snatched the paper from Dick and had his eyes on the second frontpage news. The Danny could only make out the bold title, reading **CAFE WAITRESS INJURES CHARITY CHARMER CORAZON**.

"What are you reading other news for?" Dick asked Gar. He was expecting Gar to gouge his eyes at the news featuring him.

"Dude, it's not just _any_ other news!"

"I know," Dick responded indifferently. "You don't ever read the newspaper, and now you have your full attention on the second headlining report. What's it about?"

"Rachel Roth!" Gar exclaiming, skimming through the story and skipping words he didn't understand.

"The college girl with the mood swings?" Dick knew everyone in Jump City, Rachel was no exception. She, like Dick and Gar, was studying in Jump City Community College. Rachel was the kind of girl who wore her heart on her sleeve, but kept her mind in a vault. Everyone would know how she was feeling just by the way she behaved, but she never talked about herself openly to anyone. Dick thought she was smart, but her intelligence had always been overshadowed by her disinterestedness.

Why is he infatuated in this piece? Dick couldn't help but wonder.

"Apparently, she's hiding from the cops," Gar said.

"Your city sure has a concerning crime rate," Danny noted. The theft at the Schmitt Shop had just been resolved yesterday and now the police officers were chasing for this girl that Dick claimed had mood swings.

"Employer Hugh Corazon was found unconscious in the Bay Cafe. No evidence of what happened but witnesses reported that Rachel, who works the evening shift there, was the last in the cafe with Mr. Corazon. The cops deduced it must have been her, 'cause they couldn't find her at her home. Mr. Corazon is now at the Jump City Hospital. They found that he had coronary heart disease."

Silence took place as the story sunk in.

"Dude… Dick, you should totally work on this case!"

Dick wasn't so sure. "Pass."

"But something's up with this!" Gar explained incredulously. "If I can feel it, you must too!"

"I do," Dick replied indifferently, walking towards the staff room. "But if I am going to assist the cops with my contributions, I would have applied for the position of part-time local detective instead of working here."

"You _can_, Dick! You take Forensic Science for your college degree for crying out loud," Gar pitched in. "You can have a career in that field, dude. Think about it! This Rachel problem can be another impressive item on your resume."

"I don't want to mind into others' business," Dick said and said no more as he shut the staff room there. Gar shook his head in disappointment.

"I knew he only helped Kory for one reason," he muttered bitterly.

"What reason?" Danny asked to Gar's surprised, causing him to stumble backwards yet again.

"Dude! You need to stop that. Totally uncool!"

"Hey Gar, does the arcade really have to open at eight!" Gar nodded, to Danny's dismay. "How am I supposed to wait for an hour? I don't want to watch Ms. Roth meditate again."

Ms. Roth, he wondered. I swear…

"I know! I'm heading to the Jump Zoo to help out. I'm the Head Volunteer! What do you say?"

Danny was up for anything he deemed acceptable, so he accepted the offer."

"Alright! I'll just clean this mess up, change and we'll be on our way."

Jump Zoo was an eighteen-acre place for animals divided into three sections; the zoo for the main attraction, the animal rescue center and the adoption home. This morning, Gar and Danny were heading to the rescue center.

Danny could not help but notice the sparkles on Gar's sea green eyes when he went to greet an animal. Any species seemed to do the trick for him.

But when Gar seemingly risked his life to reach out to a gorilla, Danny thought he was plainly animalistically crazy guy.

"Morning, Mr. Hallam," Gar greeted sincerely and calmly, inserting an arm through the cage and slowly patting Mr. Hallam's knee. "Glad to see your recovering well."

Mr. Hallam was a mountain gorilla that had been found injured and rescued. The settled explanation was that it had been injured during its shipping to Jump Citt with the rest of the zoo animals, and had stayed in the animal shelter ever since.

"Gar Logan!" a male voice called out, deep, rich and confident.

"Cameron!" Gar called back, shaking Cameron's hand. Cameron was a big guy wearing the adventurer's attire with round dark purple shades. The shades reminded Danny of insect eyes.

"How's my sweetie Kitten doing with managing the Dayton Resort?" Cameron van Cleer inquired.

Gar let down a bead of sweat and faked a smile. Kitten van Cleer, the spoiled daughter of Cameron van Cleer, was appointed the General Manager of the Dayton Resort, achieved by Cameron's massive capital investment. The zoo was a popular attraction, receiving good reputation for its enjoyable attractions and contributions to the society through its rescue missions and animal orphanages.

"She's doing fine," Gar lied, because in reality Kitten had not done much, hence the lack of Dayton popularity. "What work needs to be done this morning?"

"It's Sunday today so there are heaps of work," Cameron answered. "But I have a task for you. It's important. Come."

Danny and Gar followed Cameron, walking through empty cages until they stopped at the first one with an animal inside it. The cage was small for a small animal; a black bird.

"A crow," Danny uttered. "We have a ton of those in New York. Annoying creatures."

Cameron stared at Danny incredulously. He pointed at him and asked Gar, "How old is he?"

"Five," Gar answered. He noticed Danny grumbling, so he returned to the bird. "This is one large crow."

Gar examined the bird, finding its feathers pointed and eyes wandering. "She's lost?"

"She was found two days ago," Cameron reported. "She hasn't made a sound. I was going to send a team to find her murder tomorrow -"

"Murder?" Danny froze. "Why do you need to find her murder?"

Gar burst out laughing, then explained, "We call a group of crows a _murder_ of crows. You can say it's because they kill in groups, but that's the way it is. So she's fine now, Cameron?"

Cameron nodded. "She will actually be recovered by tonight, but I don't think my volunteers will have enough energy to look for her flock at night. It's a big city after all. But if you want, you can take the job."

Gar accepted the offer without hesitation.

"That's great to hear, so you will pick her up this evening."

The rest of the hour was spent on Gar touring Danny around the zoo, which Danny liked. In the end, he wanted to leave when an annoying zookeeper showed off his rock and roll singing, which sounded more like shrieking.

"Puck, _stop it_!" Gar pleaded. "You will disturb the animals!"

"PUCK ROCKET, HAVE A GOOD DAY!" Puck bellowed with his British accent, and Danny and Gar scurried away. They passed the zoo exit.

"Come one, come all!" a voice chanted Gar and Danny looked to see a man in his mid-forties in a magician's suit. "Little boy, step right up! Would you like to see a magic trick?" He gestured to Danny as if he was picking something from his ear, and then a coin appeared in his hand.

Danny inwardly rolled his eyes. "Not really."

"Aw, why so down in the dumps?" the magician asked as he mysteriously dumped water into his hat.

"He's not interested in your _mumbo_ _jumbo_, Rick, give it a rest," Gar said sternly.

Rick had a pointed nose and grayish white hair at least at the sides. "Why so hostile? Did Puck Rocket sing again?"

"How could you tell?" Gar's sarcasm was stinging.

Rick clapped his hands and when he opened them, a poster appeared. The poster, titled _Come watch the Band and be Mind-Blown!_, had four men on it. A brown-skinned trumpeter named Mal Duncan, a curly blond blue-eyed guitarist named Jericho Wilson, a broad-shouldered man exuding a motorcyclist impression named Johnny Rancic on the drums, and Rick Jubb on the keyboard. Danny couldn't help but frown upon seeing the weird combination of people for a band.

"It's not about the looks, child," Rick said as if hearing Danny's thoughts. "Come visit! It's at the mall this coming Tuesday evening."

Gar was about to reject, but all of a sudden Rick was being attacked by party spray strings. Danny and Gar turned around to see three guys snickering and spraying at the magician. One was thin with standing up spiky blond hair, the second was chubby with short black hair and the other was buff with short brown hair.

"Stop it!" Rick cried.

"Guys, let it go," Gar told them sternly, but they didn't listen.

"Williams! Lancaster!"

The three immediately stopped and saluted the man behind them. He was fit, broad-shouldered with a muscled square chin, small eyes and a light brown flattop hair. He was also in an army uniform.

"Tavis Williams, Sergeant Constantinovitch Kovar!" the skinny guy said, and the other two, Gan Williams and Hector Lancaster respectively, followed suit.

"Hand in the spray cans," the sergeant commanded, and they obliged. "Apologize to the man."

Danny was wondering why there was someone in an army uniform patrolling the city, but Gar had pulled him away from the little group so that they could return to the hotel. Once they were far enough from them, Gar spoke.

"Don't mind them, Leonid is training the three dudes. They really need discipline," he explained. "Hector talks like a soldier and even has the abilities to be a good soldier, but he tends to misbehaves. Gan and Tavis are seriously lke thunder and lightning when they cause mischief together. They're really annoying."

"Sorry for the trouble, Mr. Jubb," Leonid apologized to Rick, who was on the verge of crying, and he ran away crying. Leonid returned his attention to the three boys in front of him.

"What do you guys have to say for yourselves?"

Tavis and Gan looked down, feeling ashamed. Hector, on the other hand, crossed his arms, puffed his chest, and gave a sneering face.

"I don't really care," Hector muttered. Leonid's face hardened. The Williams brothers scrunched at the comment.

"What he meant to say is that we were just playing and thought nobody would mind!" Tavis said quickly, trying to cover up for them.

They heard a sudden sound of a phone's incoming call. Leonid pulled out his phone to see Ryan Anderson.

"Morning, Sergeant," Ryan greeted.

"Likewise." There was a moment's hesitation from Ryan before he spoke.

"I am sorry that this is on such a short norice, but it's a… _personal_ emergency. It's my burning star, Kory. We're having a big argument regarding our lack of quality time. This is urgently important for me to resolve and I know maybe asking you to take over for me a second time may be a lot, but I hope you understand."

Leonid ahhed understandingly.

"It is okay, Ryan," Leonid said warmly in his mild Russian accent. "Kory is much like a sister to me as she is to you. But as her biological brother I agree you must mend your dispute for hatred can spread as fast and dangerously as wildfire. Your eldest sister Komal is a prime example."

"Yes," Ryan agreed thankfully. "Again, I owe you."

"It is fine," and Leonid ended the call. Then, strictly, he yelled, "Stop over there."

Tavis, Gan and Hector halted on their escape tracks.

"The three of you will spend the afternoon _and_ evening with General Morris in the forest."

The three adolescents groaned.

"That old weezer?" Hector remarked unenthusiastically.

"Hey, he fought for your country during World War Two and was alive to witness One, so if I were to demand you respect someone, Morris would be a good start."

"_Both wars_? Is he immortal?" Hector's badmouthing ways continued. Gan elbow Hector to tell him to zip it.

"We will, sir," Tavis promised.

The sergeant knelt down and placed his hands on Tavis's shoulder and Gan's. If he had a third hand, on Hector too.

"Please, no more fooling around. It makes you happy, but look what it did do Rick. All three of you have the potential to be great everyday heroes. You just need to shift your energy and effort to positivity. Now, scoot along. I trust that from your Scouts experience that you know where Camp Morris is. I have fireman duty to fulfill."

In the afternoon, the three boys were being tortured by General Morris's ways, which included insanely intense and exhausting exercises.

"Why are we killing ourselves?" Hector panted during training, holding onto Tavis, who was struggling to hold on to Gan, and Hector's feet were holding on to a high bar, the three looked like a chain of barrel monkey toys.

"If we want to work in the police force," Tavis said through clenched teeth as he tried to hold tighter, "we have to do this."

Hector forced his eyes shut in pain. His arms were straining and shaking. They had been in the air for thirty minutes.

"I give up!" and he let go, causing Tavis and Gan to scream as they hit the forest floor.

"Ouch! Hector!" Gan bellowed.

"This is no fun!" Hector shouted, landing down on his two feet. "Let's do something fun and is still good training!"

"Like what?" Tavis asked dubiously.

"Prank General Morris!" Hector suggested devilishly. "Now _that's _courage."

Tavis and Gan weren't so sure. To them, it sounded fun and worthwhile, but after what Leonid had told them about how one's enjoyment could be one's hurt made them more self-aware of what they did.

"That's wrong, Hector," Gan said deeply.

"Psh! You guys are softening up!" an amused Hector said. "Whatever, I can do it myself. That's even braver!"

Tavis and Gan decided to retrieve firewood for the evening. Meanwhile, Gar arrived back at the zoo, took the caged bird, and walked around to find its flock.

"Where do crows like to hang out?" Gar asked himself, looking up for any signs of the birds. He had reached the outskirts of the city when the bird croaked.

"That's one hoarse crow's call," Gar said, taking a closer look. "Wait a minute."

He thought it was a good idea to open the cage and examine the bird more closely.

"You're not a normal crow," he said.

_**AWWWWWK!**_

"Jeepers!" Gar fell on his back as the large black bird flew out of the cage and into the forest. "No! Dude, wait up!"

Gar chased after the 'crow', not realizing that he was headed right towards the cliff. He was mainly focused on following the bird up until the moment he slipped down a steep slope and found himself hanging on for dear life.

"Help!" he screamed. "Somebody please help me!"

_"Help!"_

Tavis and Gan stopped on their tracks at the screaming.

"That sounds like Gar," Gan said.

"We should help him!" Tavis said, and they ran towards the call.

This is how I am gonna die, Gar thought miserably. He had been tightly gripping on a tree branch for nearly half an hour and his energy was running low.

"Why does the vegan have to hold on for dear life without the proteins?" Gar complained to himself, struggling to keep his hands on the branch.

_Tweak!_

"That can't be good." Gar peered up to see that the branch had been bent, on the verge of snapping into two, where one half would send him plunging down about a hundred feet to the rockiness of the river.

_Snap!_

Gar screamed as he fell, only to be grabbed by the hands by someone.

"It's okay, Gar! You're safe!" Tavis said, holding onto Gar. Gan was at the top, grabbing Tavis's feet. He pulled the two up back to dry land.

Gar was panting heavily. "That was the scariest thing in my life, dudes! I owe you big time!"

"We're only doing what's right," Tavis said proudly. "Also, we're sorry for being a nuisance at the zoo this morning."

"We learnt the hard way that in authority, power comes hand-in-hand with responsibility, and we haven't done our parts for the latter, but we're working on it!" Gan added.

"I can see that. By the way, where's Hector Lancaster?"

"He still needs to work on being a true hero, unfortunately," Gan answered.

"_Awwwk!_"

That sound, Gar recognized. "I gotta go! Thanks again, bros!"

Gar darted past the trees in search of the bird the was almost the cause of his death. He was more careful this time.

But he was naturally clumsy. He tripped on a large tree root and fell down a less steep slope.

Not again, his fast-paced mind complained as he rolled down on the grass.

But he fell down hard and long enough to fall into consciousness. The bird he had been looking for perched on top of him as if he didn't matter.

The last thing Gar heard before unconsciousness completely took over him was a faint voice saying, "Did you bring him here?"

At the Jump City Hospital...

"How are you?"

"Why are you here so late, Dick?"

Dick watched Kory placed the damp towel on Hugh's forehead. Kory's eyebrows were slanted, down at the center, to give an angry expression.

"You look upset. Why?" he asked.

"It's my brother, Ryan," she answered. "He's been... deviating from me and my family."

Dick decided to put himself into the position of Kory's supporter and comforter.

"Ryan's a firefighter. They're on-the-go kinds of people and always have to be on their feet."

"You don't understand, Richard." Dick's inner boy winced when Kory called him by his longer name, because that meant she wasn't being her happy-go-lucky self. "Between me and him compared to between me and sister Komal, there's not much difference. We barely got to know each other. There's no bond and mutual understanding. He might actually be worse the Komal! He doesn't hate me, but he's not _here with _me! Sometimes I feel that the only people who care about me are Galor and Simpy my cute caterpillar!"

Kory shouted out the last part as a desperate attempt to avoid breaking down, which kind of worked. Dick had an arm over her in a friendly gesture and patted her shoulder.

"Kory, don't worry," he said softly and sincerely. "I'm also there for you. Let's get out of this ward or else we'll wake the patients up."

Kory sniffed. "Thank you, Dick. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Deep inside, Dick felt the warmth of his accomplishment. He led Kory out of the room.

"What do you think about me kicking Ryan out of the house?" she asked.

"No, Kory. Believe, it's not going to work, because nothing will be resolved. Trust me."

Kory nodded. "I trust you. I just need some... friends."

She trusts me, Dick couldn't help but feel proud of that. He continued, "I'm your friend. And I have friends that are for sure willing to be your friends too. Gar and Vic are wacky people, they're super fun to be with if it's not work time."

The next thing Dick knew, arms wrapped around his neck in a thankful manner.

Back in the forest, Gar was finally awoken.

"Where am I?" he moaned. He opened his eyes into slits.

"The same place ever since you fell and passed out."

Gar's vision was blurry, but he could tell from his hearing that it was the low, raspy voice of a female.

"Awk!" came a croak, and Gar's eyes shot open.

"The crow!" he screamed. The bird flew off Gar and landed on the woman's finger. A dark blue cloak hid her face.

"It's a raven," she said curtly.

"Right," Gar agreed. "But you don't have to be too direct about. Who are you?"

"None of your business - Hey!"

Gar had pulled down the woman's cloak.

"Rachel?" he said, shocked.

"Please don't take me," Rachel begged shakily. Her eyes shifted in worry. Gar held onto her cloak, so he could feel her trembling.

Before he could respond, Rachel had given him a hard push and ran away. Gar tried to follow.

"Wait! Rachel!"

"Awk!"

The raven cried once more as night fell and it eyed Rachel and Gar.


End file.
